1 + 1 = 3 - Does Size Really Matter?

Collaborative working between large and small voluntary and community organisations: A Scoping Study

Authors: Linda Joy Mitchell & Kelly A Drake

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Case studies

Executive Summary

This report presents key findings from a scoping study of collaborative working between large and small voluntary and community organisations (VCOs). The study proposal arose from sector-wide discussions during the development of ChangeUp about the role of large national VCOs in building the capacity of smaller VCOs. Initial investigations by NCVO showed that some large national organisations employed a variety of methods to work with and support small organisations, and were keen to develop this role. There were, however, no concurrent findings about how the small organisations experienced these arrangements, and little documented understanding about how culture, identity and mission impact on the success or otherwise of such partnerships.

Increasing interest in the role the voluntary and community sector (VCS) plays in the delivery of public services means contract procurement procedures are opening up. However, evidence points to this being of benefit to the larger and potentially better resourced organisations rather than the smaller independent ones. Ironically, it is often the services and expertise of small organisations that public agencies are most interested in capturing.

Funders, and to some extent the public, feel that there are too many charities, with duplication of activities and service provision. Aligned with this is a somewhat negative public perception of the charity sector as being dominated by the big high profile players. The positive current trend towards localism and greater partnership working, together with the issues mentioned above are driving the need to better understand, demonstrate and encourage different models of collaborative working.

Methodology

The research included a literature review, which concludes that this is the first study of its kind in the UK. Recent research studies into partnership working mirror key findings from this scoping study, namely that trust, approach and motivation for developing partnerships between organisations is of equal importance to structure, form and methodology used. Lead organisations have a crucial role to play, and time and commitment are the crucial ingredients for successful large small collaboration.

A wide-ranging call for examples of large small partnership was sent out in October 2004. The brief defined large and small as in relation to one another'. One hundred and sixty organisations and individuals responded and 70 of these were followed up to obtain a diverse sample group of 20 partnerships. From this sample group six partnerships were selected for detailed case study follow-up. A series of indepth interviews was carried out with both the large and the small partner organisations. The analysis, findings and recommendations in this report draw on the whole project and aim to highlight issues that relate specifically to large and small organisations working collaboratively.

Key Findings

Models

The models and structures that large and small partnerships are using are not clear bright lines' that are easily replicable. The structures applied by large and small partnerships follow local circumstances, function of the partnership and funder stipulations. Four basic structures were identified from the case studies, all of which had variety in their support, governance and management arrangements. In some cases, employment and management of staff was an equally shared responsibility, in the consortia examples, dedicated members of staff were required to manage and support the partnerships. Some partnerships had created merged identities, while others retained a great deal of independence. What appears to work best is where large organisations were prepared to actually share resources and power', and small organisations were realistic and pragmatic about equality, recognising that it was not always about a simple 50:50 split.

Drivers

Partnership formation was driven primarily by opportunities to access significant new funding programmes or the stipulations of commissioning bodies. Some partnerships arose from strategic mission-driven decisions to develop new services in new ways, but a significant number were driven by opportunistic factors rather than a planned strategic and documented approach. Individuals who demonstrate innovation and creative leadership were personally driving much of this work, and many of the large small partnerships were formed on the back of previous relationships and experiences of working together.

Benefits

There is an exciting range of added value' benefits to collaboration for both large and small organisations. Small organisations reported being able to access the immense intellectual property' of large organisations; systems policies and resources. In one case, a systematic approach to capacity building led directly to increased confidence on the part of small organisations to enter into further commissioning negotiations. A number of small organisations reported real growth and confidence to think bigger about their mission and strategy. Isolation was reduced and one partnership reported an increased ability to address issues of cultural difference and diversity as a specific benefit.

Large organisations benefited from better community intelligence and access to local providers they had previously had little contact with, particularly Primary Care Trusts. This style of working helped to build the reputation of large organisations, which were seen as builders of alliances rather than organisations that helicopter in' to set up new services.

An unexpected outcome was the increase in trust built between partners. A new atmosphere of openness was reported and it seems that this way of working challenges old notions of territorialism' in the sector. Service duplication was reduced as a result of consortia arrangements, each agency becoming more aware of what others were doing and opening up referral procedures to create single points of entry for service users. The case studies also demonstrated an increase in public service commissioners' sense of value and respect for the role of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in the delivery of large public service contracts.

Barriers

The greatest barriers to increased large small collaborations were reported as a lack of time and/or resources for developing and managing the partnership. In each of the case studies, development time was unfunded and, in the main, irrecoverable. Both large and small agencies felt this strain. Attention to the development and set-up phase of a large small partnership is absolutely crucial for its later success.

Perception of the other' and an understanding of the different values, strengths, weaknesses and working cultures of large and small organisations has a crucial influence on large small collaborations. These real or perceived differences act as significant barriers if not addressed early on in an open and transparent manner. Fears about take over' on the part of the small organisations may well be a psychological barrier, but were demonstrated to be unfounded in these case studies. This does indicate, however, the importance of stating and dealing with this anxiety early on in such collaborative partnerships.

The operation of funding programmes and in some cases scepticism about this way of working created barriers to success. Many of the case study organisations were trail blazers', which had to sell' the benefits of their approach to commissioners and funders. None of the case studies were convinced that cost benefit savings were to be made in the initial stages of development. Many indicated that the real costs were possibly higher, as two sets of management costs had to be recovered and in some cases additional staffing was required to manage the partnership. If a primary driver for increased collaboration is cost savings, this finding alone may prove a considerable barrier.

Few of the partnerships had exit strategies or had developed evaluation tools to capture the added value of working collaboratively. Concerns about the longer-term sustainability of partnerships and funding uncertainties may also prove a barrier to the investment in time and resources needed to develop successful partnerships.

Lessons learned

Issues of territorialism' or my patch-ism' in the voluntary sector have to be challenged for this method of working to be successful. This report identifies some specific lessons learned, but in general large small partnerships work best for small organisations where they have been realistic about their strengths and weaknesses and willing to work with others, putting aside issues of history and personal preference. Where it has worked best for large organisations, it has required them to address fully the central issue of cultural difference and their approach. Issues of hierarchy, informality, formality, value system, communication style etc must all be teased out. Although much has been previously reported about cultural clash in partnership development, there seems to be very light attention paid to understanding how it actually affects practice, and the mechanisms that people can employ to work with differing organisational cultures.

Although great benefits are achieved by this model of working, it should not be seen as a panacea solution to the challenge of increased public service delivery by small- and medium-sized organisations. Partnerships have to be about more than just competitive advantage; organisations crucially need to share the same vision and partnerships have succeeded where time has been taken to thrash out the nuances of their shared vision.

These partnerships clearly demonstrate that the VCS can rise to this way of collaborative working and demonstrate excellence to local authority commissioners. We have uncovered a great deal of excellent practice. What seems to be generally missing, however, is the conscious and up-front' acknowledgement of the fact that size really does matter.

Recommendations

The following recommendations emerged from discussions with all the partnerships in this study. They aim to address the key players' ideas relating to the support and services they would have found most helpful when setting up or developing their partnerships.

Development of a marketing, communications and training strategy: to build sector capacity to engage in further large small collaborations, address the need for workforce skill development and disseminate understanding of the benefits of large small collaborations.
Creation of a demonstration pilot project: to sponsor, support and develop a new programme of large small collaborations. This will deepen understanding about what works and at the same time actually realise new partnerships to deliver new services.
Establish a large small development fund: to address the need for organisational access to individual development support or funded' development time, which was by far the most frequently requested resource.